Course Description
Wander through a shopping mall, walk down a main street, or drive through the city. Why are only certain stores present in the mall? Why do the types of businesses vary as you move along the street? These and other questions are addressed in Geography 2212. Whether you are interested in business, planning or just curious, this course will clarify the reasons behind the current pattern of economic activity. This course is an introduction to the theories, concepts, methods and data used by geographers to analyze the location of economic activities, the spatial organization of economic systems, the human use of the earth’s resources and environmental issues. Topics studied include agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, retailing, urban structure, spatial diffusion and economic development.
Course Content
- Introduction
- History of Economic Geography
- Spatial concepts
- Supply, demand and economic concepts
- Globalization
- Population
- World patterns
- Indices of population distribution and growth
- Models and theories of population growth
- Global population issues
- Population structure
- Migration
- Primary Sector Activities
- Global resource distribution
- Models of resource activities
- Contemporary regional resource issues
- World agricultural patterns
- Contemporary agricultural issues
- Environmental, cultural and other factors
- Secondary Activities
- World manufacturing patterns
- Classical Industrial Location Theory
- Environmental, cultural and other factors
- Other models of industrial location and transformation
- Fordism and Post-Fordism
- Contemporary industrial issues and globalization.
- Tertiary, Quaternary and Quinary Activities
- Classification of the sectors
- Central Place Theory and related models
- Analysis of contemporary issues
- Environmental, cultural and other factors
- Transportation
- Transportation models and indices
- Case studies of selected transportation systems
- Analysis of contemporary issues
- Urban Issues
- Models and theories of urban land use and urban land rent
- Contemporary issues confronting North American Cities
- Third World urbanization
- Theories of Economic Development
- Measures and definitions of development
- Theories of development
- Role of the state
- Contemporary issues
- International Trade
- Conclusion
Learning Activities
This course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:
- Lecture
- Labs and/or electronic resources/activities
- Field Work
- DVDs/Videos/PowerPoint
- Online or Electronic Resources and Activities
- Individual and/or Team Projects
- Small Group Discussions
- Map Analysis
Means of Assessment
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria during the first week of classes.
An example of an evaluation scheme would be:
| Labs or Assignments |
10% |
| Field Trip Report |
10% |
| Project |
20% |
| Participation |
5% |
| Midterm Exam |
25% |
| Final Exam |
30% |
| |
100% |
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, the successful student will be able to:
- Synthesize the concepts, techniques and theories of economic geography.
- Communicate effectively orally, graphically, in writing and using quantitative methods.
- Describe the history of economic geography.
- Explain the importance of environmental, cultural and other factors in determining economic activities.
- Explain the concepts of locational analysis, spatial diffusion and spatial interaction.
- Explain the alternative paradigms of economic geography.
- Apply the concepts, methods and theories to local, regional and global economic issues.
- Analyze the location and viability of economic activities in local, regional and global systems.
- Evaluate the main global issues confronting the world economy.
- Analyze the concepts and spatial patterns of economic development.
- Demonstrate effective geographic research and analytical skills.
Textbook Materials
Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples of a text would be:
- Barnes, Trevor and Christopher, Brett, (2018), Economic Geography: A Critical Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell
- Coe, Neil, Kelly, Philip and Yeung, Henry (2019), Economic Geography: A Contemporary Introduction (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell
- Hayter, Roger and Patchell, Jerry. (2016). Economic Geography: An Institutional Approach (2nd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford
- Mackinnon, Danny and Cumbers, Andrew. (2018). An Introduction to Economic Geography:Globalization, Uneven Development and Place (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge
- Stutz, Frederick & Warf, Barney. (2012). The World Economy: Geography, Business and Development, 6th edition. Toronto: Prentice-Hall.